Here's why the Facebook phone flopped

The HTC 1st, additionally called the Facebook phone, was on the side declared a disaster once AT&T born its value from $99 to ninety nine cents on Wednesday.

EveryOne Was surprised?

Even in associate degree trade proverbial for liberal smartphone discounts, the worth drop of the primary -- that comes but a month once its debut -- came comparatively quickly. that means what several people have suspected: that the primary was dead on arrival.

Despite a military of naysayers, the primary truly had plenty going for it. It had the backing of a well known name in Facebook, that truly poured cash into associate degree movement for the device. AT&T, meanwhile, had associate degree exclusive deal to sell the device and secure to push it as a flagship device this season.

Yet AT&T is holding a "temporary sale" for the primary.

A representative for AT&T aforementioned these sales square measure common, whereas a Facebook representative aforementioned this was a decent move by the carrier. AT&T declined to treat sales figures.

Here's my break down of what went wrong with the HTC 1st.

Facebook Home is not for everybody. a part of the HTC First's failure will be derived back to the rationale why it had been created: the humanoid skin that Facebook secure would place folks 1st. Facebook Home dominates the phone's user expertise, and whereas there square measure shortcuts to induce you to your favorite apps, it is a jarring amendment and one that some folks weren't prepared for. It's at the best associate degree experiment, and given the poor reception and negative reviews that it's garnered on the Google Play store, one that is not however prepared for primetime.

Now try to sell a phone that's fully dedicated to Facebook Home. Sure, you may flip it off, turning it into an honest very little stock humanoid phone, however that might be missing the purpose of shopping for the phone.

Unremarkable hardware. whereas Facebook Home might are disputed, it a minimum of was a daring step in several direction. The HTC 1st lacked any of that innovation.

It was clear HTC's B team worked on this device. On one hand, you have got the fantastically designed all-metal HTC One, and on the opposite, you had the primary. it is not that it had been notably bad; it had been simply unexciting.

Not that i am an exponent of Facebook Home, however it most likely due higher.

At $99, it had been still too valuable. i purchase that the traditional look and style was a results of AT&T, Facebook, and HTC wanting the phone to be as reasonable as doable. therefore why go halfway? The phone ought to are given away in exchange for a biennial contract.

A Facebook phone for free? that may flip some heads -- a minimum of among hardcore users of the social network.

We'll see if the 99-cent mark resonates with consumers, because it undoubtedly marks some progress.

You can get Home anyplace. What was the purpose of a smartphone centered on Facebook Home after you will get Facebook Home on many completely different -- and superior -- phones?

I get that the primary was a showcase phone for Facebook's new computer code. however customers don't desire to shop for a showcase piece; they need a true product.

In addition, you could not get the primary unless you were associate degree AT&T client or willing to check in for its service. Facebook associate degreed HTC opted to travel with AT&T as a result of the support that a carrier with an exclusivity agreement brings, however during this case, AT&T's facilitate did not do a lot of to spice up sales.

But as most vendors have incontestible, exclusivity agreements square measure passé, with most opting to travel massive with distribution. Facebook may have rolled the dice and relied on the strength of its name and offered up the phone to all or any of the most important carriers.

Too much competition. whereas AT&T aforementioned 1st was positioned as flagship phone, in reality, there have been many a lot of appealing flagship phones on their means. The HTC One came out last month, and therefore the Samsung Galaxy S4 is creating its thanks to stores currently. each phones, by the way, square measure ready to use Facebook Home.

Does this spell the tip for Facebook Home? No, however it's definitely a natural event and needs to leave the opposite telephone vendors questioning if operating with Facebook this extensively is even definitely worth the effort.